Some 5,000 uninsured people come into O'Connor Hospital's emergency department each year, and now it is Araceli Martinez's job to help them find coverage. In an office just down the hall from the ER, Martinez runs the Health Benefits Resource Center which has beefed up staffing and hours, with funding from Covered California, in response to the Affordable Care Act. Martinez says prior to 2014, uninsured patients had few options to pay off hefty hospital bills or enroll in health coverage. Now when they come in through the emergency room and are faced with a bill, "they're saying at that time, 'Well, maybe I can afford [some coverage].'"
Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a blog post Monday that "More than 6 million Americans have now either signed up for a private health insurance plan through the Marketplace or for Medicaid coverage." But the numbers are somewhat misleading. Here are the figures: -- 2.1 million Americans signed up for private health insurance through the federal and state exchanges through the end of December. -- 3.9 million people learned they're eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in October and November.
Hospital trade groups are pushing back against a proposal to pay for the extension of jobless benefits with another cut to Medicare providers. The American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and America's Essential Hospitals argued Monday that extending some sequester cuts into 2024 would "jeopardize health services for seniors." "While we do not oppose the extension of [unemployment] benefits, we do oppose using Medicare reductions to pay for non-Medicare related spending," the groups wrote in a letter to senators. "Medicare is meant to assure seniors' access to needed medical care, not serve as a piggybank for other programs." Negotiations continue in the Senate about how to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.
How low is too low? That's what physicians are debating after new advice for treating hypertension was issued in December. High blood pressure is defined as 140 mmHg over 90 mmHg, and for years, doctors have used that measure as the threshold for prescribing anti-hypertensive drugs. But based on the new recommendations, adults who are 60 or older can wait until their readings reach 150 over 90 or above to begin medication. After reviewing available evidence on the effects of blood pressure treatments, including adverse events, the Institute of Medicine's Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) concluded that aggressive treatment can lead to lightheadedness, falls and fainting in elderly populations — so they advised loosening the guidelines for starting medication.
The chance to finish medical school early is attracting increased attention from students burdened with six-figure education loans: The median debt for medical school graduates in 2013 was $175,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. This year, the combined cost of tuition and fees for a first-year medical student ranges from just over $12,000 to more than $82,000. Some medical school administrators and policymakers see three-year programs as a way to produce physicians, particularly primary-care doctors, faster as the new health-care law funnels millions of previously uninsured patients into the medical system.
Thanks to 3D mapping technology you can peek at Central Park, walk the Great Wall of China or even zoom in on the Big Dipper without leaving your sofa. Now a new map lets you explore locations much, much closer to home - like your bones, muscles, brain and heart. The BioDigital Human, which launched this week as an app for iPhone and iPad, is like Google Maps for the human body, allowing users to zoom, tap and explore underneath layers of skin, muscle and bone. By viewing the 3D model from every angle, users can learn how various bodily systems function and take a look at how conditions from acne to whooping cough play out beneath the surface.